Film Screening Science Film Festival 2013: Mekong

Thu, 31 Oct 2013

On occasion of the Science Film Festival 2013, the Goethe-Institute will host a screening of the film “Mekong”. The film follows the efforts of students and scientists from the delta's CanTho University as they develop a resilience strategy for the challenges facing the delta over the next hundred years.

Photo: WARECOD

From its source in the Tibetan Plateau, the Mekong River travels over four thousand kilometers through six countries, eventually flowing through the vast Mekong Delta of Vietnam and into the sea. More than sixty million people rely on the river for their culture, livelihoods and food security.

The Mekong basin, however, is rapidly urbanizing. The Mekong and its tributaries already have many dams, and many more are planned and being built. The first mainstream dam outside of China - the Xayaburi dam in Laos – is already under construction. But upstream changes through dam building and water usage could have serious consequences on downstream environments, in particular the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. Considered the rice basket of Vietnam, the Mekong Delta is already at grave risk through climate change sea level rise and intense local development. Mekong Delta citizens are concerned about these risks but are determined to adapt and survive.

The "Mekong" screening at Goethe Institute will be organized on Thursday, 21 Nov 2013 at 19.00 p.m. In additions, two more screenings will be organized at the following places:

After the screenings, the audience will not be left alone with the impressions from the movie: In a panel discussion with experts, the topic will be picked up and enable a deeper inside into the difficulties related to the recent changes at the river.